CNN CEO Finishes Review, Memo Reveals Bad News for Employees

By John McCann October 26, 2022 at 1:56pm

Big changes are looming for CNN as its new CEO aims to shake up the struggling news network.

The media giant’s parent company, Warner Bros. Discovery, is set to lay off over 1,000 employees before the end of the year, anonymous sources told CNBC. The company currently has about 40,000 employees.

This comes after new CNN CEO Chris Licht launched a six-month review evaluating CNN’s profitability.

According to CNBC, CNN’s profits are set to drop below $1 billion for the first time since 2016 as the channel recovers from the failure of CNN+ along with other revenue issues.

Licht has been tasked with reforming CNN by Warner Bros. Discovery boss David Zaslav, a process the network head refers to as “right-sizing” the business.

Licht has already warned CNN employees that this process will lead to job cuts as he seeks to trim the fat in parts of the network that have become stale or bloated.

In a memo to employees, Licht stated, “There is widespread concern over the global economic outlook, and we must factor that risk into our long-term planning.”

“All this together will mean noticeable change to this organization. That, by definition, is unsettling. These changes will not be easy because they will affect people, budgets, and projects.”

Many of these reductions have already occurred, affecting both on-air talent and those behind the scenes.

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On top of axing CNN+, which failed to garner 10,000 daily users, Licht has also cut back on the audio division by getting rid of podcasts that were failing to bring in listeners.

CNN’s primetime lineup has seen some of the most notable changes, with “Reliable Sources” host Brian Stelter getting the boot in August.

The shakeup also included a downgrade for host Don Lemon, who lost his primetime position and was moved to CNN’s new morning show debuting on Tuesday.

Licht is seeking to make the network less biased in its reporting and less “obsessive” about politics, according to CNBC.

Since the end of Donald Trump’s presidency, CNN has seen a dramatic decline in viewership. Primetime ratings collapsed by nearly 70 percent among the 24 to 54 demographic in February.

The ratings struggles, coupled with the almost comical failure of CNN+, have left CNN in a state of uncertainty and crisis.

With the primetime shakeups still very fresh and more layoffs hanging over the heads of employees, the next few months are bound to be hectic at CNN headquarters.

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